


a life lesson

by kickcows



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst and Feels, Break Up, Implied/Referenced Cheating, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:09:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25492879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kickcows/pseuds/kickcows
Summary: Peter comes home early to surprise Tony, and winds up getting a terrible surprise instead.
Relationships: Peter Parker/Tony Stark
Comments: 14
Kudos: 91
Collections: Starker and More Discord Challenges





	a life lesson

**Author's Note:**

  * For [iamtherealbork](https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamtherealbork/gifts).



> We had a prompt challenge over on a discord server I'm a part of, and this was my prompt. It's not a happy fic, and please note that I wrote this as a challenge. I don't condone the actions I've written as I've dealt with them personally. That being said, please enjoy! 
> 
> Prompt line challenge: "If the roles were reversed and you did it, I would've forgiven you" - "Well I guess that's the difference between you and I, because i wouldn't have done it in the first place."

* * *

Peter stares out the window, feeling like his entire world is slowly collapsing around him. He had gone home earlier, wanting to surprise Tony, but had heard something he didn't think he was supposed to hear. He never surprises Tony by coming home early, because Tony is always busy with work up until six in the evening most nights. So today, when his afternoon class at NYU had been canceled, he hopped on the subway and went back home. 

Except Tony hadn’t been alone when Peter had shown up. 

He had gone into their apartment, and heard laughter coming from the bedroom. Which immediately put him on edge, because why would there be laughter coming from that room? Maybe Tony hadn’t been feeling well, and was watching some television while trying to rest. But no, then he heard a very distinctive feminine laugh. Peter had turned around and walked out of the apartment, and had wandered the city for hours before coming into this coffee shop. 

Tony has texted him five times in the last hour. He reads every single text, but doesn’t bother to reply because he doesn’t know what he’s going to say. “ _Pete? You studying late? You’re usually home by now_.” “ _Should I make dinner for myself? You stuck in the library?_ ” “ _Peter - what’s going on? Why aren’t you replying?_ ” “ _Did I do something wrong?_ ” “ _You’re worrying me now, Peter. Where are you?_ ” He looks at each text, making himself feel sick as he stares at the words. It’s not fair - Tony has no right to be acting this way towards him. 

Picking up his cafe mocha that is now ice cold, having forgotten to drink it as he got lost in his thoughts, he hears the door chime with someone’s arrival into the shop. He looks up and sees Tony walking towards him. He should be surprised, but he’s not. He knows Tony keeps track of him through their shared phone plan. He always assumed it was for his safety. Maybe it’s to make sure he always knows where Peter is, so he can do what he was doing this afternoon without any remorse. 

He looks back out the window as Tony takes a seat at the table. “Don’t be upset with me.” Tony pleads, as he doesn’t bother to look at him. “Although, to be fair, I don’t know what I’ve done wrong to make you act this way towards me.” 

“I came home today.” The soft ‘Shit’ under Tony’s breath lets him know that he knows. “How long has it been going on?” He asks, surprised by how calm he sounds. Inside his chest his heart is breaking, his stomach is twisting, his mind is screaming. But his voice - his voice keeps those a secret. 

“It’s done.” 

“That isn’t what I asked.” Peter sets his cup of coffee down, and looks over at him. “Or are you too much of an asshole to answer that question?” 

“A few months.” 

His stomach twists again. “I see.” He looks down at his cup, hoping that the tears he feels collecting in his eyes will stay there for the time being. “Well, I hope you’re having fun with them. I’ll be packing my things tonight, and leaving.” 

“No, don’t do that.” He can hear the desperation in Tony’s voice, which makes one tear fall from his eye. “You don’t have to do that, Peter.” 

He shakes his head. “Don’t.” It comes out in a broken whisper, his voice betraying him, much like the man sitting across from him had this afternoon. “You don’t get to tell me that. Not after what I heard today.” 

“It was a mistake.” Tony tries again, but Peter is quick to look at him, this time with anger in his eyes. 

“A mistake that keeps happening for three months?” He snorts. “I’m going to say that three months is too lenient. And here I thought you just weren’t interested in sex right now.” Peter can remember trying to be intimate with Tony a few times, and had respectfully stopped when it had been clear that Tony hadn’t been in the mood. But now that he knows why, it makes him feel ten times worse. “Six months. Maybe longer.” 

“With this one - three months.” 

Again, the ache in his chest grows. “Nice, Tony. You’re a fucking asshole.” 

“You knew what you were signing up for when we got together, Pete.” 

Tony is right. He knew that Tony had issues with monogamy, but had promised to come to talk to him about it if he was feeling the itch to do something with someone else. Peter had been specifically clear about this, many times over. If Tony ever wanted to do something, he was supposed to tell him, but apparently the honesty he’d been hoping for hadn’t been enough. 

“And I told you that it would be okay, if you just talked to me. But you didn’t. That makes you an asshole, and someone I can’t ever trust again.”

Conversations continue around them, the soft music playing over the speakers in the coffee shop is a song that Peter doesn’t know, which is good because that means that this song won’t forever be ruined for him due to what’s happening right now. Tony doesn’t say a word to him, choosing to look out the window instead of looking at him directly. 

"If the roles were reversed and you did it, I would've forgiven you.” 

Peter knows that’s a true statement. Maybe because Tony is older, he would forgive easily, but Peter - Peter had put his trust into this man. They’d been intimate - not often, but it’s clear that the times they have been, Tony has been putting him at risk by not telling him the truth. And that’s all Peter had ever wanted. 

"Well I guess that's the difference between you and I, because i wouldn't have done it in the first place." He speaks quietly, hating that this is how things are ending. All the scenarios he’d been worried about when they’d first gotten together, and not once did it ever cross his mind that Tony would be like this. Not when he’d told him it was okay to sleep around - because he wanted to do whatever he could to keep Tony around. That was _his_ mistake, and one he knows he’s going to have to be more careful with in his next relationship. 

Pushing his chair back, he looks down at Tony, who still won’t look at him. He can see tears on his face, which a small part of him feels bad about but really, he knows that Tony has done this to himself. “Don’t come home for a few hours. Give me the space. I’ll leave everything on the counter.” He’d already spoken to Ned, who said he was more than welcome to stay with him for as long as necessary. 

“We’re going to run into each other.” Tony comments, his voice trembling. “This isn’t as big of a city as you think it is.” 

“Goodbye, Tony.” He doesn’t bother saying anything else, and leaves the coffee shop. 

It takes him thirty minutes to get back to their apartment. It takes him an hour to gather up his life into a few bags and one box. It hurts, knowing that he’s leaving his nice life he’s been getting to experience with the first man he’d fallen in love with, but he knows that if he stays - it’s going to be a constant battle of trusting Tony. And he deserves better than that. He drops his cell phone on the counter, already deciding he has to buy his own - he wants no part of Tony Stark in his life. Will they bump into each other again? Probably. But he’s going to do everything he can to make sure they stay on opposite sides of the city if at all possible. Picking up the marker attached to the whiteboard on the fridge, he leaves one last note to his lover, then gathers his things and heads out the door. 

“ _Thanks for teaching me a good life lesson. It’s been fun_.” 

It’s time to move on. 


End file.
